Delusional
by Fudgebrowniez
Summary: Karsen was only a child when the infection mutated. She learned to shoot a gun before she memorized the alphabet. Karsen also lost her whole family to the deadly spore. When Joel and Ellie run into her one fateful evening, will they stick together? Or is Karsen just being delusional.


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Nikki

Her tongue lazily licked over her chapped lips, the smell of smoke rising from her hands. She had come across the full carton of Malbaro's lying on the floor in some random supply closet. The late summer sun was starting to dip behind the conifer trees, the perfect time to be sitting on a porch playing guitar and drinking a cold one. But that wasn't an option anymore.

At least, not without a gun.

She put her Zippo back into the front pocket of her backpack, her free hand now gripping the Colt in her thigh holster. She idly flicked the safety on and off, trying to listen for a familiar moan or click. Nothing. The log cabins that she had come across earlier this morning were deserted of all life, living or undead. The cigarette smoke trailed into the air once again as she took another puff, exhaling with a gracious moan. The warm taste of tobacco danced on her lips and reminded her of the nights before the infection.

Even though she was only six before the infection started, she could vaguely remember the times of driving down the highway with her father singing country songs and sipping on root beer. Momma always yelled at her for rotting her teeth out with such a sweet drink, but she would laugh it off afterwards.

God, she'd kill for a bottle of ice cold root beer. Just for the memories. She dropped the butt of the cigarette and smushed it into the pebbly ground with the toe of her boot. Even though she sweltered during the day, her cowboy boots were her babies. They were her Momma's before the virus.

The virus. The thing that ripped her family apart, and shot the world into an apocalypse. That was nearly twenty years ago, she could vaguely remember her Dad carrying her out to their old Chevvy truck and flying down the road. Hitting bodies. Blood splattering the windshield. Her Momma was crying and She was too. Dad had stopped at a gas station and filled up three giant barrels with gasoline, Momma was in a flying rage because he didn't pay. Not like anyone cared. Dad had even ran into the convenient store and bought her a candy bar and root beer. Momma was to upset to scold both of them.

Her Dad took them to her grandparents ranch on the outskirts of New Mexico. Grandpa was holding a hunting rifle and grandma was frowning. They took her without a word, just her and Momma. Her Dad had to return back into Albuquerque to get her brother Michael. He was fifteen.

Her Dad nor Michael returned. Momma was crying for weeks before she hardened up. Grandma was teaching her to shoot a gun and ride horses, while Grandpa taught her how to build a fire and hunt. Some of the infected jumped the Ranch's barbed wire fence, but Momma was a sharp eye.

She sighed softly at the memory, the sun now dipping behind the lake that glistened blue green. She was tempted to strip down and take a swim, but a crackle of twigs on pebble stopped her. Her hand flew to the hunting rifle on her back, hoisting it over her backpack and into her arms. She went into hunting mode, searching the border of trees to find the invader. This was her heaven, not whatever hunter or smuggler decided to barge in. Another crunch. This time, it was rubber on pebbles.

"I have a gun, and I'm not afraid to shoot!" She snapped into the darkness.

"Joel, shoot or not?" She heard another feminine voice. Much younger than herself.

"Shoot."

A bullet came at her from the trees, but she dodged it efficiently. "Guys, I'm not gonna hurt y'all. Just come out, and we'll talk."

She heard the man, Joel, sigh. He led first, the girl walking slightly behind him. He had salt and pepper hair, beady black eyes and a strong build. He had a military grade backpack on with a jumble of guns tied behind it. The girl was no older than fifteen, holding a small handgun along with a smaller backpack. They looked as unfriendly as a hunter or bandit. Joel walked to her, also pointing a similar gun. She pulled the gun around her backpack and looked at him expectantly. He also dropped his gun.

"I'm not lookin' for any trouble here. I don't got much supplies, but since you got a kid I can share a lil." She said hesitantly.

"I'm not a kid!" The girl blurted.

"Ellie! Show her some respect." Joel snapped at the kid. "That would be wonderful."

"Okay. My name's Karsen. Karsen Ramirez." She introduced over her shoulder.

"I'm Joel, and this is Ellie." Joel said as Karsen walked into the biggest log cabin.

Karsen had been using this cabin as her personal home. She had thrown all the shit out, including a few clicker's bodies, out the back and tried to make it look homely. The kitchen held stacks of canned foods and non perishables, while her bed was two mattresses stacked on top of each other with a wool blanket. In the center of the cabin there was a table with mismatching chairs, along with any extra ammunition, medicine or weapons Karsen didn't need. Ellie picked up one of her homemade pipe bombs and looked at it with confusion.

"That's a pipe bomb, missy. Be careful." Karsen smirked at the kid.

"What do you think I was doing?" Ellie grumbled.

"Well, I guess I'll cook y'all up some food. Y'all must be starvin. Where'd you come in from, anywho?" She sauntered over to the kitchen, throwing a few logs in the burner.

"Uh, I'm from Pittsburg." Joel coughed, clearly uncomfortable. "Ellie's from, where'd you say, kid?"

"Boston, Joel. Boston." Ellie chuckled.

"Wow, how'd you two make it all the way to the middle of nowhere Colorado?" Karsen propped open a shelf to get out a can opener.

"Long story." Joel seemed to close up, his response short and clipped.

Karsen didn't take offense to it. Survivors these days didn't like to talk about their lives before the infection, nor anything personal. Karsen sure as hell didn't want to tell them about losing her whole group to a bloater. She didn't want to tell them about nearly getting bitten. Or watching lone survivors come down with the disease in her care. Karsen learned a little bit of first aid, and liked caring for hurt people. When the military stomped through her quarantine zone, Karsen was around 16 or 17, she tended to wounded men that had gunshot or scratch wounds. Most of them survived thanks to her. She idly thought about this as she warmed a pot of chicken noodle soup over the squat fire she made in the oven.

"You guys thirsty?" She asked, looking at the kid mainly.

They both nodded in appreciation. Karsen got up from the fire and went out to the back, where she kept a cooler with a block of ice from the winter. She had worked hard to keep the ice cool by adding a little bit of cool water every day. She fetched a water bottle for the kid, and two beers for her and Joel. She knew the old man would appreciate it.

"Where'd you get beer?" Joel chuckled as she handed it to him.

"You could say I'm a pretty good scavenger. Found a whole six pack left in a gas station." Karsen noticed she forgot a bottle opener.

Joel popped the lid of with a cruel shiv he had attached to his belt. It was half of a pair of scissors tied up with leather binding. The kid had one too. She poured two plastic bowls of soup and handed them out, before walking over to her mattress. A spare backpack was hidden behind it, where she kept backup supplies. She pulled out a Swiss Army knife and placed it in her jeans pocket, before returning to the crude circle they had set up on the floor.

"That's a cruel looking knife you got there." Karsen said after she had taken a spoonful of soup.

"Well, it's not like there are grade a knives lying around." Joel retorted.

"Here, I've got a few of these lying around and I'd think you'd want it." She handed the red oval to Joel.

He crinkled his grey eyebrows. "Why are you being so helpful? Most survivors would of skinned us." Joel and Karsen looked at Ellie, who looked innocent sitting on the floor reading.

"Yeah, well, I had a kid I took care of for awhile. If we had a handout like this, he wouldn't of, well.." Karsen trailed off.

"Oh. I'm sorry for your loss." Joel said, no sympathy in his voice.

Karsen turned and pulled off her boots. "His name was Jason. Not like you'd care to know, but it sometimes helps to talk, yknow?"

"Yeah." Joel muttered, obviously lost in thought.

Karsen didn't push, instead she went and sat down at the table to count her supplies. Three bottles of rubbing alcohol, a vial and syringe of penicillin, numerous band aids and gauze, along with ibuprofen and morphine. She even had three pills of OxyContin. Karsen was running low on pistol ammo, with only thirty bullets. Eight shotgun shells, a case of hunting rifle ammo, and a lone rifle pistol also sat on the table.

"You got a rifle?" Karsen asked.

"I do." Ellie mumbled.

Karsen threw the bullet in a rainbow fashion, the kid catching the bullet between her tiny palms. The sun had long set, sending the world into a dark abyss. Karsen had taped shut the windows with tarps and duct tape, but the infected's groans could still slightly be heard. They were way out in the distance, nothing she'd have to worry about. A clicker or two would wander into camp, but they couldn't hear sleeping humans. Karsen had found one of those dog whistles that annoyed the hell out of them. No clicker would step foot within a mile of her log cabin.

"I guess I'll keep first watch." Joel sighed.

Karsen was pulling the second mattress from under the first. "Ellie, you're free to sleep on this mattress. Joel, you can take mine if you wish. And don't worry about watches. Infected don't normally walk through here without a reason."

"Thanks." Ellie grumbled, snuggling onto the first mattress.

Joel walked up to Karen, nearly a foot difference between their heights.

"Look, whatever you're planning to do with us-" Joel growled.

"I'm not plannin' to do anything with y'all. You're free to leave whenever you like. I have to go into town to find more food, anywho." Karsen retorted.

"I'm watching you." Joel mumbled as he took the second mattress.


End file.
